John Evans' debut novel "A Dead Issue" is a murder mystery based in Pennsylvania

About the Book:Mark Cameron does not want to be groomed to take over the family business empire. He wants to find his own path in life—like his father did. But when his half-brother comes to town, that path takes Mark to the center of a felony homicide investigation as a person of interest. He plays a dangerous game, balancing between being a key witness and a prime suspect as Detective Devereaux doggedly searches for that one clue that could put Mark behind bars.

Meanwhile, the vultures circle the investigation and tear into the family fortune, gorging themselves with payoffs, extortion, and ransom. Mark’s world is spinning out of control and he must find a way to make it stop. There is only one way. Someone must die.

About the Author:
John Evans is a native of Bangor, Pa. After graduating from Bloomsburg State College, he took a job as an English teacher in Mechanicsburg, Pa. After four years of teaching, John moved to New York City for a brief time and returned to the Lehigh Valley to accept a teaching position in Lopatcong Township, New Jersey where he was named Teacher of the Year for 2006. In 2012, the Bangor High School Alumni Association elected him to the 1885 Club, the alumni hall of fame. John recently ended his teaching career to become a full-time writer.

Although his current focus is fiction, he also has a special interest in Mark Twain. In 1993, University Press of America published his first book, A Tom Sawyer Companion, which draws a parallel between The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Twain’s personal adventures as a boy. He has also written personal essays and articles. A short story, “Getting the Bugs out of Tom Sawyer,” was published in McGraw Hill’s 2000 edition of Tom Sawyer. He has also reviewed books for the Mark Twain Forum, a scholarly website for Twain enthusiasts. Recently, John has turned his energies to writing fiction. In 2003, his first YA novel, The Cut, was published by Beachhouse Books. A Dead Issue is John’s first mystery.